Russia-Ukraine War: List of Major Events, Day 1,031 | Russia-Ukraine war news

We present the main events that took place on the 1031st day of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The situation on Saturday, December 21 is as follows:

Struggle

• Ukraine targeted the city of Rilsk in Russia’s Kursk border region on Friday and deployed US-supplied missiles in an attack that killed six people. US President Joe Biden recently authorized Ukraine to use US-supplied missiles to strike deeper into Russia.
• A few hours ago, Russia struck Kiev killed at least one person The building that houses the embassies of Albania, Argentina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Palestine and Portugal was damaged. Moscow said the strike was a response to Ukraine’s strike on the Russian city of Rostov with Western missiles.
• Kiev said on Friday it had received the bodies of 503 dead Ukrainian servicemen from Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporozhye regions and from morgues inside Russia. Most of the dead are from Donetsk, which has suffered the most from the fighting.

Economy

• Russia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at a record 21 percent, halting further growth despite high consumer inflation due to massive war spending and deep labor shortages.
• Business figures have criticized the Kremlin for the impact of higher borrowing costs on the economy.
• The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved $1.1 billion in budget support for Ukraine, bringing the total amount allocated since March 2023 to $9.8 billion under the institution’s ongoing aid program.

Politics and diplomacy

• European Union Secretary General Ursula von der Leyen condemned Russia’s attack on Kiev and the damage to the building where numerous diplomatic missions are located. “Another despicable attack by Russia against Kiev,” he wrote on X. “Putin’s disregard for international law reaches new heights.”
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that European leaders should change their strategy regarding Ukraine as Russia advances on the front line. Speaking on Hungarian state television on Friday, he called for a Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine and the exchange of up to 1,000 prisoners of war.
• Orban does regularly blocked, delayed or watered down EU efforts to provide arms and funding and sanction Moscow for its occupation.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday he would talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin again after resuming contact last month, sparking criticism from Ukraine. Scholz said that the purpose of the next calls will be to “make it clear” that Putin must “stop his aggression and withdraw the troops”.